Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg renew classic rivalry

By Matthew Knight, CNN

Updated 8:58 AM ET, Tue January 21, 2014

Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

Tennis legends take on star pupils – Novak Djokovic won his first grand slam title since hiring Boris Becker as coach at Wimbledon in July 2014. The pair have been working together since December 2013.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

Difficult start – Becker (right) in conversation with Djokovic at the 2014 Australian Open in Melbourne, where he lost in the quarterfinals. The 46-year-old German is one of several former grand slam champions to recently take up a coaching role with a top player.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

From commentator to coach – Becker won six grand slam titles during a 15-year career. Since retiring in 1999 he has become a skilled summarizer for broadcasters around the world. His decision to switch to coaching surprised everyone, not least because he has never done it professionally before.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

A perfect match? – However, the pairing of 17-time grand slam champion Roger Federer and Stefan Edberg seemed obvious. The Swede, a six-time grand slam winner himself, was a player Federer idolized when he was growing up. Both men are renowned for being extremely stylish players.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

Mutual respect – "He's such a great player, but there's always minor things you can work on," Edberg said. "I really think I can make a little difference. And if I can, maybe that will take him back to where he was."

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

Lendl leads the way – Eight-time grand slam champion Ivan Lendl helped Andy Murray to win his first two major titles, as well as an Olympic gold medal.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

French liaison – Since splitting with Lendl in March 2014, Murray has teamed up with former women's No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

Croatian champions – Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is something of a veteran on the coaching circuit compared to the likes of Becker and Edberg, having started coaching fellow Croatian Marin Cilic in 2010.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

Nishikori chooses Chang – Michael Chang (right), who stunned Edberg in the 1989 French Open final as a teenager, took up a coaching role with rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori last December.

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Tennis legends take on star pupils 10 photos

Bruguera to coach Gasquet – Spain's two-time French Open winner Sergi Bruguera started coaching France's Richard Gasquet in February 2014.

Keeping up with the changes in coaching personnel on the men's tennis tour can be difficult these days. Just ask Goran Ivanisevic.

"When I came into the locker room, I see the guys," explains the 2001 Wimbledon champion. "I thought I might be mistaken. Are we on the Champions Tour?!"

The Croat's tongue-in-cheek remark made at the start of the Australian Open serves to illustrate a novel situation where former grand slam winners are suddenly all the rage with today's top players.

Ivanisevic -- coach to compatriot Marin Cilic since 2010 -- and Ivan Lendl (who has been with Andy Murray since 2011) are old hands compared to the likes of Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, who surprised everyone at the end of last year when they accepted roles with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer respectively.

The German and the Swede met 35 times in the 1980s and 1990s, famously contesting three consecutive Wimbledon finals. Edberg won that particular battle 2-1 with both men finishing their careers with six grand slam titles. But how will they fair as coaches?

Pat Cash, a former rival of both and host of CNN's Open Court, admitted to "surprise and disbelief" when he got wind of Becker's appointment. He wasn't the only one.

"When Novak announced that Boris was going to be working with him I was honestly very surprised for a couple of reasons," two-time U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin told CNN.

"Novak had such a strong fall -- he was undefeated since the final of the U.S. Open where he lost to Rafael Nadal. He was 24-0 in the fall, so he was playing so well," she added.

"The other thing that came to mind was that I was surprised Boris wanted to do it. He seems to have such a full life with family and commentary. It's a big commitment to travel on tour with a player full-time. But it seems like Boris is really, really excited about doing it."

Excited and confident, judging by his comments prior to the Australian Open.

"I've been in 10 grand slam finals, I know exactly what a player feels like when he's in the later stages of a tournament," Becker told reporters.

"When you're 25 -- in my case -- I was better with a tennis racket and now I'm better with my mouth."

Net gains

Djokovic has retained the services of long-time coach Marian Vajda, but will be hoping to learn from Becker's much feted skills at the net, Austin thinks.

"(Djokovic) already has that from the baseline -- great defense, great offense -- but maybe he wants to round out his game a little bit more and be more forceful at the net, maybe have some better technique at the net," she says.

Retired doubles ace Mark Woodforde is more familiar than most with Djokovic's game. The Australian, who won 11 grand slam doubles titles with his partner Todd Woodbridge, coached the world No. 2 for a time in 2007.

"He likes to evolve his game and take advice from great tennis players and obviously he's gone for one of the all-time greats in Boris Becker," Woodforde said.

"I just wonder whether in the back of Novak's mind is the way Boris played -- trying to finish points a little more cleanly than what he's been doing in the past.

"Maybe he's trying to pick up on the style that Boris brought to the court himself -- the knowledge, the hustle bustle. You've got to think that the elongated points that he has to play these days, it's got to mount up."

Long points inevitably lead to long games, as Djokovic's fans in Melbourne are all too aware.

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Australian Open hots up – Li Na faced a battle to stay cool and to stay in the Australian Open against Lucie Safarova.

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Australian Open hots up12 photos

Medical treatment – Li's compatriot Zheng Jie needed medical treatment for heat stress during her 6-2 6-4 defeat by Casey Dellacqua. "I felt so hot, my mind wasn't working," said Zheng. "I was looking at the ball, but I couldn't focus on it. Then I couldn't concentrate. This weather is very difficult for me.

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Sleepless nights – Serena Williams looked in complete control during her straight-sets win over Vesna Dolonc on Wednesday, but the top seed admitted to waking up in the middle of the night due to fears over dehydration.

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Ice cool – Maria Sharapova wrapped ice around her neck in a bid to keep cool during her first round win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

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It's a hot Juan – Playing early in the day on Tuesday, Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro felt the heat during his win over American Rhyne Williams.

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Fainting – It all got to much for Canadian Frank Dancevic who fainted during his match with Frenchman Benoit Paire.

Exposed to the elements – While supporters in the Rod Laver Arena could at least take cover under its roof, fans on the outside courts were exposed to the elements.

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Strike a pose – With temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius at the Australian Open, sport scientist Dr. Ross Tucker suggests any player hoping to succeed Down Under should take up Bikram Yoga.

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Hot shot – Men's fourth seed Andy Murray is a long-term practitioner of bikram yoga. Clearly comfortable in the heat, he's reached the final in Melbourne in three of the last four years, though the Scot has questioned if the players' health is being put at risk.

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Beach party – While some chose to head to Melbourne Park, other Melbournians chose to hit St. Kilda beach.

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EXPAND GALLERY

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In 2012 he clinched his third title beating Rafael Nadal in a match lasting five hours 53 minutes -- the longest grand slam final ever -- and last year he took just over five hours to get past Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round.

While Djokovic tries to transition from baseline to net, Becker is plotting an entirely new path away from the commentary box.

The 46-year-old has reigned in his TV duties since accepting the coaching role, but his former Davis Cup coach Niki Pilic has urged Becker, whose private life since retiring in 1999 has been colorful and, at times, scandalous, to go a step further.

"There is no doubt he needs to change his lifestyle completely," Pilic said, Reuters reported.

"He needs strict discipline and a certain modesty. It won't be easy for him but he has no choice.

"He should not give too many interviews, must be restrained and do his work quietly. Above all, he must understand that he is not more important than the player. It will be an interesting experiment."

Can Ed help Fed?

Whereas Becker and Djokovic's partnership has caused a degree of head-scratching, the news that Federer had sought out the services of Edberg was much easier to understand.

"That one didn't surprise me," says Austin. "He looks up to Stefan. He was one of his idols. Roger, when he first came on tour, to me, would serve and volley and infrequently chip and charge, and now he doesn't do that as much.

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Of course, that was Edberg's style of play, so maybe he's looking for that little extra element to elevate his game."

Edberg, now 48, has agreed to a part-time coaching role, spending 10 weeks with Federer this season, but is confident he can help the 32-year-old Swiss to an 18th grand slam title.

"He's such a great player, but there's always minor things you can work on," Edberg said recently. "That's why I do it, because I really think I can make a little difference. And if I can make a little difference, maybe that will take him back to where he was."

Woodforde is relishing the prospect of watching the partnership evolve.

"We all liked to watch Stefan Edberg play. It's almost when we watch Roger play now, everyone covets to see him. They always want him to win," Woodforde said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how Federer profits from that. I think it's going to be so beneficial for him because that is probably that style is probably what Roger needs to move towards if he is going to have an elongated career."

Fine margins

With the business end of the year's first grand slam approaching, Federer will hope he can execute the strategies discussed with Edberg as he takes on Andy Murray -- his successor as Wimbledon champion last year -- in Wednesday's quarterfinals.

"The key thing for me is that this really shows how important these tiny little things can make," says Austin.

"These are all champions that we are talking about, they're already top players, but they are looking for any different margin to set themselves apart.

"In a match when they are playing against each other, it could be two or three points. It could be something that a former champion says -- the light bulb goes and maybe makes them feel more comfortable, more confident. If that makes the difference then it's all worth it."